Miami’s Senior Day celebrations at the Watsco Center were spoiled by the Louisville Cardinals, defeating the Hurricanes in the final game of the regular season 92-89.
Falling one game shy of a program-record 25 regular-season wins, the Canes (24-7, 13-5 ACC) mounted a late push in the closing minutes and nearly erased a double-digit deficit after trailing big in the first half.
The Cardinals (22-9, 11-7 ACC) began the contest going 3-for-4 from beyond the perimeter, pouncing on Miami’s sluggish start to take a commanding 13-2 advantage within the first five minutes.
Louisville kept its foot on the gas as the first half wore on, stretching its lead to as much as 29-17 over UM.
Even without star freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., out with a back injury, the Cards’ offense remained firing on all cylinders. They finished the first half with a comfortable 46-37 edge, shooting 62 percent from the field and going 9-for-15 from three-point range.
Miami’s defensive struggles plagued them all afternoon, surrendering their highest allowed first half point total of the season.
The Hurricanes stormed back after the break, feasting on the offensive side of the floor to hang 52 points over the last 20 minutes, their most in an ACC half this year.
Applying the pressure off a career-high 14 made free throws from Malik Reneau, Miami’s lead scorer buried three more from the line to cut it to only a one-score advantage for Louisville with five minutes remaining.
Tre Donaldson’s straightaway triple on the Canes’ next possession tied the margin at 77-77. The veteran guard then converted on a driving layup to give UM its first lead of the day.
Both sides traded baskets down the stretch until Cardinals guard Adrian Wooley drilled a three-point dagger with 18 seconds left, putting Louisville ahead 89-87.
Miami’s last sequence ended in disaster when Reneau failed to corral an off-balance pass from Donaldson that skipped out of bounds.
The catastrophic turnover was the final nail in the coffin, as the Canes would eventually lose by three, conceding the most points to any opponent all season.
Donaldson led all Canes with a game-high 25 points, sinking 11 of 16 shots from the field on 50 percent shooting from three.
Head coach Jai Lucas was frustrated with the loss, citing Miami’s sizable first-half deficit and persistent defensive woes as the difference maker.
“For me, it was a game that was lost in the first ten minutes, just with how we came out defensively. Anytime you give up 46 points in both halves, it’s hard to win a game.”
Despite the result, Lucas is ready to move forward towards the upcoming ACC conference tournament, where the Hurricanes could potentially be rematched with Louisville in the quarterfinals.
“I’m excited and just ready to turn the page…You don’t want to lose, but we got a lot of good film that we can use from this, and hopefully we get the opportunity to play them again on Thursday.”
Miami will now begin their postseason run in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Tip-off is Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ESPN2.